


Jacob's Ladder

by Darkpurplelighter



Category: Home Improvement (TV)
Genre: Alternate Ending, Cancer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-27
Updated: 2019-10-28
Packaged: 2021-01-04 20:08:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21203351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darkpurplelighter/pseuds/Darkpurplelighter
Summary: A.U to the season five episode 'The Longest Day.' Randy's cancer diagnosis will test the strength of the Taylor family like nothing has before.





	1. The Results Are In

Sitting downstairs in the basement of the Taylor house, Tim and Jill were sitting on the bed of their fourteen year old middle son Randy playing a game of scrabble in order to try to take all of their minds off the phone call they were all waiting for. When Tim had brought Randy back to the house from the arcade he had told his wife that Randy knew that he might have cancer, making her instantly feel guilty about keeping it from him. They then decided to stay around him until the call came and pulled out board games to play in order to try to keep his mind off things.

While the two of them continued to sit on the bed, Randy was starting to slightly pace back and forth.

"Man, its five-fifteen when are they going to call?" He finally asked.

"I'm sure they're going to call any minute." Jill tried to assure. "Oh come on, honey, play. Just play."

Randy nodded and spelled out the word Thrill. She smiled and then took her turn.

"Good. Okay, I've got one. Lacks."

After spelling out the word, Tim wrote down her score.

"Twelve."

"That's fifteen." She argued.

"It gave me an opening, honey. Read 'em and weep. Exlacks."

After spelling the word out he looked up to see his wife and son looking at him as if he were exceeding stupid.

"What?"

"Dad, first off that's a brand name." Randy responded.

"And you didn't spell it correctly." Jill added.

"You're telling me there's no 'X'"?

Before either one of them could answer, the phone then rang. They all looked at each other in silence for a moment before Jill pressed the button and put the phone up to her ear.

"Hello?"

Tim and Randy both stared at her.

"Oh, Al." Jill sighed before taking a deep breath. "Look, Tim and I are fine, please don't call here ever again." She then hung up the phone and looked at her husband. "What is wrong with that man, where did he get this insane idea about me and milkman?"

"Spends too much time with his mother." Tim answered, not bothering to tell her that it was him had told Al that lie because he didn't want him to know about his family's situation.

The phone rang again as Jill rolled her eyes as she sighed in frustration before picking up the phone.

"Al-"

"Tell him he's fired."

"Please don't...oh, hi Dr. Kauffman."

Tim and Randy then stared at her as she continued to listen to the doctor talk on the other end as Tim put his hand on his sons shoulder. After a long couple of seconds went by, Jill's brows then furrowed for a moment before slowly hanging up the phone and looking at them.

"What is it?" Randy asked.

"She wants us to come down to her office."

"Why?"

"I...I don't know, she didn't say."

Tim and Jill stared at each other, both now looked extremely worried.

"Well...okay." Tim finally said. "Let's go."

The three of them then walked upstairs and headed straight to the garage, getting inside the car. The whole drive there, Jill was horrified but managed to keep herself together in order not to upset her son. They were going to get bad news…she knew it. If it was nothing the doctor would have just told her that on the phone, why else would Dr. Kauffman want them to come down to the office? Once they reached the building, they exited the car and headed to the door. Randy said something but Jill was in such a state that she really didn't even hear him and Tim responded as he opened the door for the two of them.

They walked into the office and sat down in the chairs in front of the desk. About a minute later, Dr. Kauffman walked in and greeted the family.

"Hello, Jill, Randy." She smiled. "Tim, how's the nose?"

She was referring to an incident on Tool Time where Tim had accidently smacked himself in the face with a wooden board.

"Oh, all better." He assured.

"Good."

She then took a seat and decided to get straight to the point.

"I'm sorry for making you all drive down here but I felt like this was news that you needed to hear in person, not over the phone."

Jill felt her heart rate quicken as Dr. Kauffman took a deep breath, she hated this part of her job.

"After looking over the results from the blood tests, it does look like the lump in Randy's throat is malignant."

Jill slowly put her hand over her mouth as Tim swallowed the lump in his throat, his mouth now slightly opened. Randy just stared at her, his jaw firm but his blue eyes were wide as the color drained from his face. Dr. Kauffman bit her bottom lip slightly as she stared at the teenager with complete sympathy before attempting to give the family some good news.

"The good news is, Randy has papillary thyroid cancer and it has a ninety-seven percent cure rate. I believe that after a few weeks, Randy, you will be cancer free."

Tim put his hand on Randy's shoulder as Jill's eyes began to water.

"What's going to happen next?" He asked.

"We are going to have to perform surgery on Monday morning to remove the lump. After the lump is removed and Randy has recovered, he will undergo radioactive iodine treatment. This is very simple, it consists of taking a single pill in a dose that has been calculated just for him. Randy will need to avoid contact with others for a couple of days so that they are not exposed to the radioactive materials."

Randy took all this in, not reacting at all. He didn't cry, speak, or even move as he just stared down at his hands.

"The bottom line is that this is one of the most curable cancers." Dr. Kauffman assured again. "I believe that after the treatment, the cancer will be gone."

By the time they got out of the office, the tears in Jill's eyes finally fell which she quickly brushed away so Randy didn't see her crying. She didn't want him to be any more upset than he already was.

"Randy?" Tim asked, trying to hold himself together as well. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Randy responded in a low voice. "I'm okay."

"Let's go home." Jill then spoke. "Let's just go home."

Tim nodded as he put a hand on his son's shoulder and led him out of the building back to the car, feeling as if he had been punched in the stomach. Just as Randy opened the door to the backseat and got in, and overwhelming sense of guilt came over him, remembering what he had told Randy back at the arcade. He told him he didn't have cancer, he assured him. But he was wrong, Randy did have cancer and would have to fight to get better, with the rest of them having to do their best in helping him in any way they could.

Despite the fact that the doctor's office wasn't that far from the house it was still a long drive home to Tim. No one said a word and to ease the uncomfortable silence he put on the radio as he continued to try to remain focused on the road and not the news he had just received about his son. In the backseat, Randy was just staring out the window as he absent mindly stroked his cheek. Every so often Jill would look at the rear-view mirror to see how he was doing, concerned for him but he continued to have no reaction at all to what he had been told.

She on the other hand wanted to burst into tears, to scream, to grab Randy in a tight hug and never let go. But, Jill knew she couldn't. Her son had just gotten the worst news of his young life and seeing her upset would just make things worse for him. When they finally pulled up in the garage, the three of them slowly got out of the car. Randy made his way to the door but his dad called after him.

"Randy, wait a sec."

He stopped as Tim came to his side and took a deep breath. He didn't want to bring it up but he felt like he needed to because he now felt so guilty.

"What?" Randy asked.

"Back at the arcade...I know I told you that you didn't have cancer-"

"I really don't want to talk about it right now." Randy interrupted, in a subdued tone. "I just want to be alone."

"It's alright." Jill spoke. "We understand."

Randy walked through the door and into the house as his parents soon followed. Brad and Mark were in the living room when they looked over and saw the three of them. Randy went straight to his room in the basement as Tim and Jill approached their other sons, knowing that they didn't know about the whole thing.

"Where have you guys been?" Brad asked. "We were starving so I had pizza delivered."

He then pointed to the dining room table that held two pizza boxes and Tim nodded as Jill mentally cursed herself for forgetting to cook dinner for her other sons.

"Yeah, sorry we didn't tell you we were taking off."

He then took his wallet out of his pocket and handed his oldest son a twenty to repay him for ordering the food.

"We need to talk to you guys." Jill then said as she walked to the couch and took a seat, Tim sitting down right next to her. "It's about the blood test that Randy took the other day."

The two of them looked surprised by that.

"What about it? Is Randy okay?" Brad asked, sounding a little concerned and Tim frowned, knowing how close the two of them were. He then decided to answer for his wife.

"Randy has been diagnosed with thyroid cancer."

"Cancer? Are you serious?"

"I'm afraid so. We were hoping that it was nothing but...it's not the case."

"Randy's going to die?" Mark then spoke up, his question shocking the rest of them.

Jill's mouth opened slightly before shaking her head and clearing her dry throat.

"No, honey. Randy is not going to die."

"But people die from cancer."

"Not everyone. The type of cancer that Randy has is very treatable. The doctor thinks that after a few weeks of treatment that he's going to be okay."

Tim watched his oldest and youngest boys take in the information before following up.

"We just needed to let you know. And also, this is important. Don't treat Randy any differently when you see him. This is going to be hard for him and seeing us upset is just going to make things worse for him."

Brad and Mark looked at each other for a moment.

"We won't do anything." Brad promised.

"Yeah." Mark echoed.

"Can we go see him?"

"Not right now." Tim answered. "He just wants to be alone. You'll see him in the morning."

They tried to eat the best they could after the talk but the horrible events of the day had pretty much killed Tim and Jill's appetite. By the time the reached their room and began changing to go to sleep the two of them were drained. Tim was just happy that tomorrow was Saturday and wouldn't have to worry about waking up to go tape another episode of Tool Time.

"What did you try to tell Randy back in the garage?" Jill then asked as she got into bed, emotionally exhausted.

Tim put his hands on his hips and looked up at the ceiling for a minute before exhaling heavily.

"Back at the arcade I assured him he didn't have cancer."

"Tim." She began as she quickly got back up while shaking her head, her eyes glassy with unshed tears. "Don't do this to yourself."

"I told him that he was going to be okay." He repeated.

"And he will be."

"We don't know that."

The tears in Jill's eyes fell, knowing that was the truth. They didn't know that Randy was going to be okay. He then turned to look out the window, looking through the glass up at the black sky littered with stars.

"Why does this keep happening to me?" He asked himself.

"What are you talking about?"

"My dad was killed by a drunk driver when I was eleven. Now my son has cancer...what is this some kind of sick joke?"

He then covered his face with one of his hands and began to lightly sob as Jill wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her chin on his right shoulder as he tried to get a hold of himself.

"Remember what you said about being strong." She reminded as tears began to lightly fall from her eyes as well.

"I know...I know."

"Right now, Randy needs you…and I need you."

Tim wiped away the last of his tears before turning around and looking down at his wife. He nodded slightly.

"I'm here."

"He's going to be okay. We'll make him okay."

"Yeah…we will."

After he said that he wrapped his arms around his wife and the two of them simply stood like that for who knows how long. Just locked in an embrace as they willed themselves to remain strong and help Randy any way they could in beating the sickness.


	2. Contemplating Death

Throughout the rest of the night Randy was laying awake in bed staring up at the ceiling. By this point a few tears had trickled down his cheeks which he quickly brushed away but more only followed. It was the strangest thing, when he was sick in the past he knew it. His body told him something was wrong. But this time around, had had a deadly disease, the sickest he had ever been yet he felt fine. Maybe a little tired on some days, but overall felt okay. Randy continued going over the disease in his mind, and by this point was asking himself the same question probably everyone in his position asked themselves at one time or another.

'Why me?'

He was a good person, wasn't he? He had never done anything truly terrible to anyone over the years. Okay, he and Brad stole money from charity that one Christmas, but they gave the money back and ended up giving them a lot of their toys. He had done a lot of good things for people over the years. Yeah, he got into some trouble over the years, did things in school, got on peoples nerves, but he was just a kid. He just turned fourteen years old. Did he really deserve cancer? What had he done that would warrant this kind of punishment?

Asking that question again and again, he couldn't come up with an answer.

Randy then heard his stomach growl and then realized that he had not eaten for hours. He looked at the clock on the wall and saw that it was ten o'clock and figured that his parents and brothers would be asleep and didn't have to risk running into them upstairs. He just didn't feel like dealing with anyone right now and how they might react to seeing him. The look on his mom and dads face back in the doctor's office was enough.

He got up and headed up the staircase, opening up the door and instantly reached the kitchen. Opening up the fridge, Randy saw a pizza box and took it out. Just as he closed the door he looked over and saw a figure right there causing them both to jump.

"Ah!"

It was Brad. He was fully clothed and had just returned from a late-night party he went with his friend, Jason.

"Brad! What are you doing?"

"What are you doing?"

"Keep it down." He then whispered, not wanting his parents to hear them.

Brad then studied his younger brother's face more closely and could tell by the dampness of his eyes that he'd been crying. He then remembered what he'd been told by his parents this evening.

Randy took the pizza box and walked past him to the living room but before he could reach the sofa Brad asked;

"So…are you alright?"

Randy froze in his tracks before looking back at Brad. He knew what his older brother meant, he had no other reason for asking that.

"Did mom and dad tell you?"

"Yeah."

"I have cancer, Brad. How would you feel?"

He then took a seat and placed the box on the table, taking out a piece of pizza. But before he could take a bite of it he stopped and rubbed his forehead. Brad could clearly see the state of his brother and walked over to him, trying to think of something to say that might comfort him. He wasn't exactly good at this sort of thing.

"Dad said that is was curable."

"Dad also told me I didn't have cancer."

Brad smiled a little as he sat down next to him.

"Dad's hardly a doctor."

"Actually he is." Randy smiled a little as he looked back at the doctorate his Dad had been given months ago. Brad looked back at the certificate and smiled a little too. Randy then finally got himself to eat as Brad took out a piece for himself out of the box and they just ate together in silence for a minute or two before a thought came to Randy's mind. He didn't know why it came to him, it just did.

"Hey. If I died...would you be sad?"

The question clearly took the older boy by surprise. The two of them were only a year apart age wise. They use to share a room, they were partners-in-crime when they were younger. Sure there were times when they fought, there were times of jealously. Randy sometimes felt like their dad favored Brad, while Brad sometimes got envious of Randy's good grades.

By all brothers fought sometimes, and in the end Randy wasn't just his brother, he was his best friend.

"I don't know what I'd do…if you weren't around anymore." Brad finally answered.

Looking at him, Randy nodded a little as he couldn't help but smile a little. He needed to hear something like that at the moment.

"Thanks."

"I remember when we were really young." Brad continued. "You use to always want to do everything I did. You were always around, I could never get rid of you."

He then smiled.

"Remember what I use to call you?"

Randy snorted a little.

"Yeah. 'Right-Behind-Me-Randy'."

Brad then messed up his hair a little as Randy smiled and playfully pushed it away. The two of them just continued to eat for the next few minutes before Randy finally got up to head back down to his bedroom but Brad then got and idea and spoke again.

"Hey."

Randy looked back at him.

"Do you...want to stay with me tonight?"

"What do you mean, stay with you?"

"I mean, if you want. We use to share a room, remember?"

"You only have one bed."

Brad shrugged.

"There's enough room for two people."

Taking a look back towards the door of the bedroom before looking back at his brother, Randy nodded and then spoke;

"Alright. Just don't try anything."

"What am I going to do?"

"Don't do anything to me in my sleep." 

"And you promise not to wet the bed."

Randy smiled as they headed towards the staircase. When they reached the room, Randy laid down on the bed and a second later Brad was beside him and threw the covers over the both of them before turning on his side. It was a little awkward, but Brad was just trying to be a good older brother. Randy then opened his eyes when he thought that.

A good older brother. That was the reason why this had happened to him.

Throughout most of his life, he had done nothing but torment his younger brother Mark. When he was born, his parents had asked him to look after Mark, to be a good older brother like Brad was with him.

His parents had asked him to look after Mark…

And he hadn't.

XXXXXXXXXX

The following morning Randy woke up beside his older brother and saw that he was still asleep. Getting up, he crept out of the room as quietly as he could in order not to wake him. Out in the hall, he also saw that the door of his parents room was closed, meaning that they were still asleep as well. Randy was glad for that, not wanting to see them right now. Heading down the steps, Randy headed downstairs and was a little surprised to see Mark fully clothed looking like he was getting ready to head out. He then quickly remembered what he thought last night, about not being there for him, about not being a good brother.

"Mark." He quickly said, getting his attention.

The younger boy turned his head and looked a little nervous upon seeing him. It was the first time he had seen him since being told that he was sick. He remembered what his parents said, not to act any differently towards him.

"Hey Randy."

"Where are you going?"

"Outside. Maybe to the park."

The park? Maybe this was his chance, it wasn't too late...yet.

"Well...can I go with you?"

Mark now looked at his older brother like he had grown two heads. He never asked to do anything with him.

"Uh…"

"Just give me a second okay? We can play some basketball when we get there."

Mark nodded as Randy turned and headed to his bedroom in the basement. After getting dressed he went to the closet and took the basketball out before putting it underneath his arm and walked out the front door with his younger brother.

Along the way, Randy bit his lip slightly as he tried to think of something to say. Finally he just blurted out;

"How's school going?"

"Fine." Mark answered. "I'm glad summer vacation is almost here."

"Right." Randy mentally kicked himself. "I forgot that school is over in a week."

"How could you forget?"

"I've had a lot on my mind."

Mark carefully glanced at him as they continued walking. He wanted to ask Randy if he was okay but didn't want to take the chance of upsetting him. His older brother seemed to be in a good mood right now and didn't want to say or do anything that would change that. When they arrived at the park the two of them headed to the basketball court. Once they were facing each other Randy tossed the ball to Mark.

"Let's see you get past me, dork." He teased playfully.

Mark smirked as he dribbled the ball as he ran towards the basket which was ten feet off the ground. Randy went to intercept him but Mark moved around him and shot the ball into the air and it went straight through the hoop.

"Luck, pure luck." Randy said as he took the ball now that it was his turn.

"Yeah, we'll see." Mark grinned.

Randy began bouncing the ball as he tried to maneuver his way around Mark who had his hands out, trying to knock the ball out his way. He quickly circled around him and ran up towards the basket, leaping up and shooting the ball in a lay-up which went through the hoop. Mark got the ball next and was about to shoot when Randy intercepted and got the ball back, shot in the air but it hit the backboard. Mark caught the ball the shot it up in the air. It went through the hoop which gave him another point as Randy began breathing deeper, he really felt tired now and they hadn't even been playing for five minutes.

Getting the ball again, Randy was now having trouble focusing on bouncing the ball as Mark moved in front of him, trying to get it back. He tried to run past him but he stumbled and dropped down to one knee.

Seeing what happened, Mark quickly went to his side. Randy was breathing heavily and was sweating lightly.

"Are you okay?" Mark asked, worried. "What happened?"

"I'm fine." Randy responded between breaths. He felt like he ran two laps around the school track. "I'm just tired."

"I'll go get Mom and Dad."

"No!"

Randy grabbed Mark's wrist to stop him from running back to their house.

"I'll be fine, just give me a minute."

"Alright." He said slowly as he knelt down next to him. "I'll stay with you."

Mark then carefully put his hand on Randy's shoulder as his breath slowly began to turn back to normal. After a few more breaths the older boy looked at Mark and then said;

"I'm sorry about teasing you over the years."

Mark blinked in surprise after he heard that. Randy then continued.

"I didn't mean anything by it…you know that right?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "Are you okay now?"

Randy took one last breath before standing up.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Back at the Taylor house, Tim was just waking up and walking downstairs. He, along with his wife hadn't gotten much sleep over the past two days and finally was able to get some much needed rest last night. When he walked in to the kitchen he saw Brad sitting on the stool at the counter, eating leftovers from last night.

"Morning Brad." He greeted. "Pizza for breakfast?"

"Why not?"

Tim shrugged.

"Yeah, why not?" He said while taking out a piece for himself. Jill then walked in the kitchen and greeted her husband and oldest boy.

"Hey, Jill." Tim responded as he got out the pizza box. "Want one?"

"No thanks, I'm going down to see Randy."

She then headed down the basement as Tim walked into the living room and flipped on the television. He began watching a news broadcast for a moment before the sound of Jill yelling caused him to jump.

"Tim!"

Jill then raced back up with a worried look on her face.

"Randy's not in his room. Where is he?"

"I don't know." Brad answered. "He stayed with me last night but when I woke up he was gone."

"Alright, just calm down." Tim said as he went over to his wife. "Mark's not here either, maybe they went somewhere."

Just then, the front door opened and both Mark and Randy walked inside. As soon as she saw him, Jill raced over and engulfed Randy in a hug.

"Randy? Where in the world did you go?"

"Just to the park." He answered, squirming a little as he was a little annoyed by his mother being so overprotective. She then let him go and looked at him.

"You shouldn't have gone anywhere without telling us first. You're sick, you-"

"I'm not made of glass!" Randy then yelled, taking everyone by surprise. "And you don't have to remind me that I'm sick!"

He then rushed past her, ignoring his father's calls as he went straight to his room, slamming the door behind him.


	3. Wilson's Words

After Randy's blow up everyone else in the house remained quiet as they ate breakfast before Brad and Mark headed back upstairs to their room. Tim on the other hand needed to get some air and talk to someone, the same person he always talked to whenever he had a problem going on in his life.

"Hey, Wilson. Are you back there?" He called to behind the fence. Sure enough just a second later a voice responded;

"Is that you Tim?" Wilson called back. He was sitting by his small desk in the backyard, peeling some potatos when he heard him call. Having a pretty good feeling he wanted to talk Wilson got up and headed over to the fence.

"How are you this fine morning?"

"Not so good." Tim responded. "The other night the doctor called us in to tell that the lump in Randy's neck is malignant."

"Hmhm." Wilson responded. "Jill told me. She was out here late the other night."

"She was?"

"Yes, she was pretty upset. We talked for a little while about the whole thing."

"Yeah, we all are upset. I just can't believe my fourteen year old son has cancer. It should be me going through this, not him."

"Oh, Tim. Don't say that. It wouldn't make the situation any easier."

"Sure it would. Randy would be okay, his only worries would be school and girls and being a kid. Not worrying about cancer."

Tim then shook his head.

"You know Wilson, this whole thing...it really making me wonder. I use to believe in everything...god, country, family. How could something like this happen to us?"

Wilson nodded, he understood what Tim was saying, remembering talking with Jill on the swing the other day. Her telling him about the bubble that had protected the family over the years and how one phone call could change everything. And that's unfortunately what ended up happening. It was normal for a person in their situation to be having these kind of thoughts. He tried his best to comfort him.

"The good news is, Randy can be treated. From what Jill told me he has a ninty-seven percent chance. I'd say the odds are in his favor."

"But yet all I can think about is that other three percent." Tim admitted.

Wilson frowned a little as he then tried to think of a quote he once read in a book.

"You know, Tim. A man named Georg Groddeck once said that 'one must not forget that recovery is brought about not by the physician, but by the sick man himself. He heals himself by his own power, exactly as he walks by his own power, eats by his own power, breaths on his own power, and sleeps on his own power.'"

Tim's brows furrowed a little in confusion.

"What does that mean?"

"I think it means that a person in Randy's position only has two options. Give up…or fight."

That caused a small smile to come to Tim's face.

"My boy's certainly no quitter."

"I know Tim." Wilson smiled. "I think Randy will end up being just fine."

"Thanks, Wilson." Tim smiled back as he then turned back to the house as Wilson nodded, feeling good that he helped put his friend in a good place, even if it was only temporary.

Back inside, down in the basement Randy was sitting at his desk when he heard a knock on his slightly open door. His mom was standing there and she smiled a little and slid the door open further.

"Can I come in?" Jill asked.

"Sure."

Randy rocked his chair back and forth as Jill took a seat beside him. He then sighed heavily before saying;

"I'm sorry that I yelled earlier and didn't tell anyone where I was going-"

"No, I'm sorry." Jill responded. "I shouldn't baby you like that. You're still capable of going to the park…even in your condition." Jill didn't mean to bring it up again, but felt she needed to as Randy just stared at the computer screen. "So, was it nice being out with Mark? Did it take your mind off things?"

"Kinda." Randy admitted. "I was just trying to be nicer to Mark. Maybe if I had in the past, this wouldn't have happened to me."

Jill's brows then furrowed as she stared at her son in confusion.

"What are you talking about?"

Getting up from his seat, Randy held out in arms in frustration.

"Mom, don't you see? I've done nothing but torment Mark over the years, that's the reason why this has happened!"

"Honey-"

"You and Dad asked me to always look out for him, to be a good older brother and I haven't. All I've done is pick on him!"

"That's not true." Jill reached out with her hand but Randy brushed it away as he sat back down. "Randy, maybe you two weren't that close in the beginning but when you shared a room you use to do things all the time with Mark. You played video games, watched television together, helped him with his homework."

Randy listened as Jill continued to list the things he had done for Mark.

"You and Brad stood up for him against the McGerns. And when he got glasses. If that's not being a good older brother then I don't know what is."

He nodded as she finished up. When his Mom put it like that, maybe he wasn't as bad as he thought. Taking a deep breath, he turned his head to look at her.

"Then why did this happen?"

"I don't know, sweetie." Jill said, having to stop her eyes from watering. "But we'll get through this, I promise."

The two of them looked at each other and Randy smiled a little. He then remembered that his surgery was on Monday and then asked;

"What is surgery like?" He was nervous about that because he had never had it before. Jill then smiled a little.

"Aren't you asking the wrong person?"

"Oh yeah, the expert's upstairs."

Yep, her husband has had to go to the hospital more times than he could remember. Randy was in a much better mood by this point and decided to follow his Mom back upstairs instead of hiding away in the basement.

"Can I go out?" He asked as they climbed the stairs.

"Of course."

Randy remembered that his friends didn't know about his condition. He needed to tell them before he had surgery. Heading back up the steps, Randy grabbed the phone that was hanging on the kitchen wall. He dialed the numbers of three of his closest friends, asking them to meet him at the public library. About an hour later, they had gathered at a table in the Detroit public library, Tommy, Jeremy, and Beth all looked tried as they were woken up by their friend Randy asking them to meet him here. As they sat down Jeremy stared at him in annoyance as he spoke up.

"Can you please explain to us why you called us at eight-thirty in the morning on the weekend?"

"Yeah." Randy sighed. He decided not to drag it out, there was no point to that and just told them all at once. "I have cancer."

The three of them just stared at him in silence for a moment before Jeremy shook his head.

"Forget it." He said, thinking that it was practical joke to be played on their classmates like they usually did. "Forget it. I don't want anything to do with this."

Tommy however smiled.

"No, no, I think we can fool people think that. First you get better, then you get worse…then you die. And then you come back to life, yeah we can do that."

He started laughing a little as he began thinking of a way to start the whole rumor around the school that Randy had cancer. Randy smiled a little himself but Beth was just staring at him in shock, her mouth slightly opened. Something told her that Randy was serious about what he had just told them.

"That's funny." Randy responded. "That's funny, Tommy but it's not a gag. I'm serious, I have cancer. I have a lump in my thyroid that needs removed."

"A lump on your thyroid?" Tommy questioned.

"Yeah. I'm having surgery on Monday so I won't be at school. I probably won't be at school for the rest of the year."

He then shrugged.

"At least there's only two weeks left, right?"

Randy then looked at Beth who had the same horrified look on her face. Tommy and Jeremy now both looked stone-faced as well.

"Are you going to be okay?" Jeremy then asked.

"The doctor thinks so." Randy answered. "They said I have a ninety-seven percent chance at beating it-"

"I'm sorry." Beth interrupted as tears began to come to her eyes. She then got to her feet. "I'm sorry."

She then turned away and headed to the exit as Randy quickly got to his feet and chased after her leaving Tommy and Jeremy to themselves, shocked silent.


	4. Good News and Bad News

Monday morning, the day of his surgery had arrived. It was six o'clock in the morning as Tim, Jill, and Randy piled into the Nomad and made their way to the hospital. Randy had been dreading this day as the whole idea of surgery made him nervous. He had meant to ask his Dad what it was like but for some reason never got around to it. Upon arrival a nurse took Randy to an area where other patients were waiting for surgery as well. He was brought to a bed and the nurse asked him to remove his clothes and put on a green gown and hair net as she then left right after closing the curtain behind her.

Awkwardly, Randy removed his shirt, pants, and boxers before putting the gown on having a hard time tying it behind him. He then got into the bed and a few moments later the nurse came back.

"Very good." She smiled. "I'm now going to place the IV in your arm. Have you ever had one done before?"

"No."

"Well, it will just be a little pinch."

Randy then closed his eyes as the nurse gently took his arm. He then bit down on his tongue as the IV was inserted in the vein of his right arm. Sure enough, it had hurt like the nurse said. She then left again as he stared up at the ceiling before hearing the voice of his mother.

"Honey."

His Mom and Dad had been brought back here and both look a seat next to his bed.

"So." Tim began. "Are you naked under that gown?"

That made Randy smile a little.

"I still have socks on." He answered.

Just then a doctor came through the curtain and greeted them all.

"Hello, I'm Doctor Roberts, the anesthesiologist," he greeted. "Randy Taylor, how are you doing?"

"Good." He answered.

"Is this your first time having surgery?"

"Yes."

"What did you have for breakfast this morning?"

"Nothing."

It was a trick question. He had been told by Dr. Kauffman that he couldn't have anything to eat past ten o'clock on Sunday night.

"Good answer." Doctor Roberts responded. "Now, do you have any questions for me before the surgeon is ready?"

"Yeah." Randy said. "When they put me to sleep, what is the chance that I may wake up during the surgery?"

"Zero chance."

"Oh. That's good."

"Yes. They're very good with that."

After the anesthesiologist left them, Tim leaned forward and spoke to his son.

"Why didn't you ask me about surgery?"

"I kept forgetting." Randy responded honestly. "I'm sure that you know all about it."

"That's right." Tim smiled.

"So what's it like?"

"Basically you'll fall asleep and then wake up."

"Just that easy?"

"Yep. It's like you leap forward in time. It's really the strangest thing."

The curtain was then pulled open as a hospital worker greeted them.

"Mr. Taylor." He said, referring to Randy. "They're ready for you."

Jill then leaned forward and lightly grabbed her son's hand.

"We'll be waiting for you when you wake up."

Randy nodded and smiled.

"Okay."

The worker then began pushing the bed to the room where the surgery was going to take place. Randy smiled a little, it was kinda cool being pushed around on a bed on wheels. As soon as they entered the room, Dr. Mitchell, the surgeon greeted him.

"Good morning, Randy. Could you move on to the operating table please?"

Randy carefully got up from the bed and did what he was told. As soon as he layed on the table a nurse then injected something into his IV which he assumed what was going to put him asleep. He kept staring up at the bright lights on the ceiling as he heard them all talking in the background but couldn't make out what they were saying. Very quickly, it was getting harder and harder to keep his eyes open. And finally…

He drifted off into blackness.

XXXXXXXXXX

His vision was a little blurry when he opened his eyes but everything quickly came into focus as Randy woke up. He took deep breaths as he slowly looked around the room that he had been taken into, the last thing he remembered. What had happened? Had they done the surgery? Finally, he saw the doctor come into view and asked in a low, grainy voice;

"What time is it?"

"It's nine-thirty." Doctor Roberts responded.

They had arrived at the hospital at six, three hours had gone by. His dad was right, it was really was that simple as going to sleep and waking up. Dr. Roberts then came by his side.

"Everything went well, the lump in your neck was successfully removed. As soon as the anesthesia has worn off, you may go home. I see no reason for an overnight stay at the hospital."

Slowly reached up, Randy touched a small bandage on the side of his neck as he smiled a little. It was all good news. The surgery went well and he could go home. Dr. Roberts had then left the operation room to head where Tim and Jill were waiting. He had already told them that the surgery had gone well now he was going to tell them that their son was awake. They both looked up at him when he walked into the room and greeted them.

"Randy is awake." He began. "And he'll be able to go home within the next forty-five minutes."

"That's great." Tim smiled as he looked at his wife.

"Now, Randy's throat is going to be a little sore for two or three days. I recommend that he eat only soft foods such as applesauce, yogurt, and ice cream."

"I'm sure he'll love that." Jill spoke.

The doctor then smiled.

"Now that the lump is gone, I'm sure that Dr. Kauffman will be in touch with you soon as to make an appointment for the radioactive iodine treatment."

Tim and Jill then looked at each other as the doctor walked away. At least they were done with this part, but it still wasn't over yet. Meanwhile, Randy was finding it hard not to drift back off to sleep but was determined to stay awake so he could be sent home. Finally, after about a half an hour had went by a nurse brought a bag that contained his clothes and told him that he could change. A hospital worker then came by with a wheelchair to take him out of the building.

Outside, Jill stood with him as Tim got the car. She then looked down at her son and said;

"You don't have to talk, just nod. Do you feel alright?"

Randy nodded and Jill smiled, happy that things had gone well. Hopefully it would continue once he started taking that iodine treatment. Back at the house, Brad and Mark who were allowed to stay home that day had woken up early and had occupied themselves by playing video games and watching television looked at each other when they heard the car pull up in the garage. They quickly got to their feet and headed to the door just as it opened and their dad led Randy in.

"Are you okay?" Brad asked his younger brother.

"Yes, everything went fine." Jill answered for her son.

Brad then leaned forward and gave Randy a quick hug that Mark quickly followed up on.

"So Randy doesn't have cancer anymore?" Mark questioned.

Tim then had to stop himself from cringing at his youngest son's question. It was probably the only thing that could bring down all of the spirits at the moment. He then looked at his wife for a moment before answering.

"The lump that caused the cancer is gone. But Randy still has cancer, he'll get treated for that probably in a few days."

They all just stood there in an uncomfortable silence for a moment before Randy spoke up in a quiet voice that could barely be heard;

"I'm going to my room."

"Okay, honey." Jill responded. "Go ahead."

As Randy turned and headed down to the basement, Brad then remembered the phone call he had received while they were gone.

"Hey dad, Bud called. He said to call him back as soon as possible."

"I wonder what he wants?" Tim asked himself out loud as he grabbed the phone and dialed the number to call up the president of Binford tools. Once he got through to his secretary she quickly patched him to his office phone.

"Tim?" Bud asked.

"Yes, this is Tim 'the Toolman' Taylor." He responded in a deep voice.

"Now, Tim as you know you've been absent for several television tapings." Bud began. "It's just been Al and Heidi doing the show and the ratings have come in and they are way low."

"My son has cancer, Bud."

"I know, and I am very sorry Tim but we need you back to work. The momentum we've built in the new markets are starting to be effected. Can you be at work tomorrow?"

Tim then looked up at his wife who was staring at him as he talked on the phone. He then knew that he really wasn't being asked to come back to work, he was being told.

"Yeah, I'll be there."

He then took a deep breath as he hung up the phone.

"What was that about?" Jill asked.

"Bud wants me to come back to work."

She nodded in return.

"How I am supposed to concentrate on work and be entertaining on the show when my son is sitting at home with cancer?"

"I know, I can hardly concentrate in class because of all this," Jill admitted. "But we've got to try to start trying to go back to our normal routines."

"How do think Randy's going to feel about me leaving for work?"

"I'm sure he'll understand."

"I hope so."

He then walked around his wife to head down to the basement. Tim really wasn't looking forward to this...having to tell his son that he could no longer stay home with him because of his job. However, as soon as he got in front of the door Tim found that he couldn't get himself to open the door. Taking a deep breath, Tim turned away and headed for the front door as Jill frowned as she saw just how badly Randy's illness was effecting him.


	5. Lashing Out

A day had passed since the surgery and Randy was currently sitting on the couch with a large dish of chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry ice-cream as he watched television when he heard a knock on the front door. Jill was sitting by the computer working on a paper for school when she heard it and got up to answer it. When she opened the door she saw it was several of Randy's friends from school.

"Hello, " Tommy greeted. "Can we see Randy?"

"Yes, for just a few minutes." Jill responded as she opened the door further for the three of them to enter. "He still can't really talk because of the operation."

Tommy, Jeremy, and Beth all walked towards the living room and Randy smiled at them once they reached the couch.

"Hey Randy." Jeremy greeted.

He nodded and smiled at them but didn't speak because he barely had a voice.

"We wanted to bring you these."

He held out a bunch of letters to his friend who took them and began looking them over.

"It's from the kids from our classes and teachers." He explained. "They send their thoughts and hope you get better soon."

Randy smiled a little as he began reading one.

"Randy." Beth then spoke. "You know Thursday is the last day of school, and the eighth-grade dance is going to happen." He knew what she was talking about. It was kind of a tradition at the middle school that the last day for them was a dance that took place in the cafeteria. There was pizza, music, saying goodbye to everyone as they left to head into high school, even though he was already there for math and science classes. "Well, I was wondering if you could come. It's only going to be a few hours, do you think you could make it?"

Turning his head to look back at his mom, Randy stared at her and from the look on his face Jill could tell that he really wanted to go. She frowned a little, not wanting to tell him 'no' but didn't want to give him false hope either.

"I'll tell you what." She began as she walked over to the couch and answered for him. "I'll give Dr. Kauffman a call and if she says it's okay, then you can go. Okay?"

He nodded a little.

"Okay." Randy mouthed.

"Okay." Tommy responded. "We'll see you later, Randy."

Before leaving, Beth leaned down to give Randy a quick kiss on the cheek before following the boys out of the house. Jill couldn't help but smile at the scene as she went back to the computer, hoping that the doctor would let her son attend the dance. He had been through so much, he needed something to give his spirits a boost.

Meanwhile, Tim had just arrived at the studio for the taping on his show and was throwing his suit on just as Al came into sight and greeted him.

"Tim! Where have you been we're going on in two minutes."

"Well, excuse me Al, I have more important priorities. And if you didn't have the personality of a dead moth I wouldn't have had to show up today to save the program."

Al didn't respond as he stood side by side with Tim as the cameras went on and Heidi began to introduce them.

"Does everybody know what time it is?"

"Tool Time!" The audience yelled.

"That's right and here's your host, Tim "The Toolman" Taylor!"

The audience began clapping as Tim and Al both walked out onto the set before the crowd. Even though he had done this a hundred times Tim felt a little nervous this time around. The this show was part entertainment and he really didn't know if he could be funny right now with what was going on in his life right now.

"Thank you, Heidi. I am Tim "The Toolman" Taylor." He began while taking off his jacket. "And of course you know my assistant, Al "Paint watches him dry" Borland."

The crowd laughed a little as Al took his jacket and hung it up. He then walked towards their project for today, re-tiling a kitchen floor when he decided to bring up why he had been gone through the past several shows.

"I'm sorry that you all had to suffer through Al's show but I've been attending to my sick son."

"That's right." Al responded. "And we thank you all for the get well letters you all have sent to the studio for Tim's son."

"Well the good news is, his had surgery to remove a lump from his thyroid and it was successful."

"And we all pray that he continues to get better."

Tim scoffed as he picked up a hammer.

"Pray to what? There's nobody looking out of us. We're all on our own."

Al's brows furrowed at Tim's statement. Even Bud who was watching the taping from the sidelines looked confused as the two of them were supposed to be working on the project by now.

"Uh…Tim?"

"That's right." Tim responded as he bent down to look at the sample of the floor. "And if you actually believe that there is, then you're an idiot."

Al looked around nervously as the people in the crowd were now looking at each other in a mixture of confusion and being offended.

"Al, do want to tell them what we're going to be doing today?"

"Uh, sure. Today we're going to be re-tiling a kitchen floor."

Bud sighed heavily as he continued to watch the watch the two of them work. It certainly wasn't going well so far and it was the last thing the show needed at this point.

Tim's brief outburst on 'Tool Time' had been edited off the final broadcast of the show and didn't make television but that didn't make Bud any less happy about what had happened. And it wasn't just that, he had complained that Tim wasn't as entertaining as usual, his lack of chemistry with Al and the show's project not being interesting.

Hanging up the phone in the kitchen, Jill lightly sighed as she thought about what she had just talked about with Al. This was the last thing she wanted to hear at this point right now. Finally getting her feet moving to the direction of the door of the garage, Jill lightly pushed open the door to see her husband working on the hot rod.

"Honey." She began to get his attention. "Al just called."

"Yeah, what'd he want?" Tim asked without looking up.

"He said that Bud didn't like how the show went today."

"Yeah? What else is new?"

"He also told me what you said on the show. About people being idiots if they have faith."

"I was just expressing my opinion like I always do. Is there something wrong with that?"

"What's going on with you Tim?" Jill asked as she walked closer towards him. She then realized that the two of them hadn't talked all that much since Randy's diagnosis. "I thought you were okay."

"I am okay." Tim responded as he got up to get a wrench from a hook on the wall. "I've just changed my mind about some things, that's all. I use to think that someone cared about us and watched over us, now I don't."

"So what are you saying that you don't believe in anything anymore?"

"That's right. Unless I see it for myself I don't believe it."

"What about Randy?" Jill then asked. "Dr. Kauffman said it would be okay for him to go to school for the dance on Thursday."

He looked up at her for a moment.

"He still has cancer."

As he looked down to work on the car again tears began to build up in Jill's eyes. It wasn't just what he had said it was how he had said it. The hardness in his voice. The harshness in his voice. 

"Yes he does." Jill finally responded as she slowly turned around and exited the garage, leaving Tim to himself. Tim frowned a little, he had heard how his wife had just sounded but he just shook his head, as if trying to shake all thought away as he just concentrated on fixing up his hot rod. 

Several days later, Randy was riding on the school bus for the first time in two weeks for his last day. Middle school was going to be all over after today and he would officially be considered a freshman come September. If he made it to September that is. His throat had healed up since his surgery and he could talk normal now and eat solid food again. He was happy about that, he never thought he would get sick of eating ice-cream but he did. As soon as the bus pulled up next to the curb in front of the building the doors of the bus opened up and everyone on the bus got up to exit. Randy went straight to the cafeteria upon getting in the school and looked around at all the decorations bidding them far well. Balloons were everywhere, dozens of pizza boxes were sitting on tables that were set up on the side of the room. A large dance floor had been set up in the front as giant speakers were on top of the stage.

More and more kids began filing into the cafeteria and as soon as Randy looked up at them he was starting to get some of the 'that's him' looks from a couple of them.

"Can we catch what he has?" He overheard one of them say.

Every urge wanted him to call the kid an idiot but he ended up ignoring it, Randy then moved forward and began looking for his friends and finally found them sitting with each other at a small table. Tommy, Jeremy, and Beth all smiled upon seeing him.

"Randy." Tommy greeted. "You made it."

"I told you I would."

"That's good."

Beth then looked him up and down.

"Hi, Randy. You look nice."

He was wearing a white collared shirt and black dress pants. Nothing much really but Randy appreciated her compliment.

"Thanks." He then swallowed his nervousness and then asked; "Do you want to dance?"

She nodded.

"Okay."

People began approaching the dance floor as they did. The lighting was changing from blue to red to green as the song 'Love Shack' blared from the speakers. He began bouncing up and down and moving to the music along with Beth as they smiled and focused on each other.

"I'm going to miss you Randy." Beth then said.

That took him off guard a little.

"What do you mean?"

"We're going to be going to different high schools next year."

He then remembered that because of where the two of them lived, in different districts they would have to go to separate schools from now on. He then shrugged.

"We can still hang out."

"I know. But I'll still miss going to school with you."

Randy nodded as something then came to his mind. While the surgery might have been done and over with, Randy was told the treatment he would have to undergo to get rid of the cancer would start tomorrow but as he continued to stare into Beth's eyes he forced himself not to think about that.

He just wanted to concentrate on having fun with his friends on their last day of school.


	6. Eckhart's Philosophy

The following day after parking his car in the lot and heading inside the studio, Tim ignored the looks from the rest of his crew as he took off his jacket and prepared himself for today's taping. Just then, the voice of his boss got his attention.

"Tim." Bud began as he walked over towards him. "I need to talk to you."

"I know what you're going to say." Tim responded. "I'm sorry about the other day, it won't happen again. From now on, it's business as usual. I promise."

Bud nodded as he continued to look at him.

"You know, when I told you I needed you to come back to work I wasn't trying to be the bad guy. I was just worried about the show, maybe I didn't take the whole situation into account the way I should have."

"Its okay, Bud. Really."

"No, it's not okay. I want you to take some time off."

"What about the show. What about the new markets?"

"We'll show re-runs of the best episodes in the new markets. Don't worry about that, it's your son you need to worry about."

Tim sighed heavily.

"Bud, I need to be here. I need something to take my mind off things…"

"Seems to me when you're here your mind is elsewhere."

"It was my first day back. Give me some time-"

"Tim, it's not a suggestion. Take some time off, be with your family and get yourself together."

With that said, Bud spun around and headed away from his main star as Tim looked down at the floor, knowing that he had been avoiding his family because of the weight of the situation they had to deal with. Just then, he saw Al in the corner of his eye.

"Are you okay, Tim?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine."

"What are you going to do?"

"I guess I'm going home."

Taking a deep breath, Tim took the keys out of his pocket and walked back to his car. By the time he got home, he walked in and saw Jill sitting at the kitchen table. Tim froze, remembering their last conversation. Remembering how he had been avoiding her, avoiding Randy in a way.

"Tim." Jill started when she saw him. "What are you doing back here?"

"Bud sent me home."

That almost made her mouth open from shock.

"Did you get fired?"

"No." Tim almost laughed. "They'd never fire Tim the Toolman Taylor."

In the past, Jill might have laughed or rolled her eyes in bemusement but this time she simply ignored him and went back to her coffee. Tim then placed his hands in his pockets and walked closer towards her.

"Jill, I'm sorry about how I was when you tried to talk to me the other day."

Jill then looked back at him.

"I guess the way I've been acting, it's my way of not dealing with this whole thing."

"Do you really think I want to deal with this? Or Randy?" She asked.

"Of course you don't."

"But we don't have a choice."

"I know. But from now on I'm going to be here for you guys. I promise."

"You really mean that?"

"Yes, I mean it."

Jill smiled a little and got up to hug Tim, but at the hospital Randy was laying in bed in his first day of the radioactive iodine treatment. It had been given to him in liquid form and some of the side effects of it included a sore throat and nauseated stomach. He had read the effects on the computer and Randy ate light last night so not to risk vomiting and so far he had been luck enough to avoid it. But to be honest the worst part of the whole thing was being alone in this small room. Randy was told he would have to remain here for an overnight stay so not to possibly effect anyone else with the radioactive material, so other than an occasional visit from a nurse checking on him to make sure he was okay, he was going to be here by himself until tomorrow.

To try to pass the time Randy grabbed the remote the turned on the television that was hanging up on the wall but nothing was on during this time of the day. He reluctantly settled on some kind of soap opera show, something his mom would probably enjoy watching. If anything, hopefully the show would bore him to such a point that he would fall asleep. He really didn't get much last night.

After about twenty minutes, finally his eyes began to glaze over. Just as they did, the show cut to the seen of a funeral. Randy's eyes closed as he just listened in.

"A bright light has gone out today. We mark the passing of a beloved son, brother, and friend…Randall William Taylor."

Randy's eyes snapped open after he heard that and quickly realized he imagined in. He watched the whole funeral segment on the television for a few more moments before taking a few deep breaths as he could feel his stomach getting upset again.

"He will be missed."

After he heard that, Randy quickly lunged up and grabbed the trashcan as he threw up.

XXXXXXXXXX

When Randy was allowed to come home from his treatment at the hospital he spent his time with Wilson out in the backyard as both his brothers were out enjoying the early days of their summer vacation. He envied them, wishing he could hang with his friends at the arcade or mall, like they were probably doing. But as much as he envied them he couldn't get mad at them for that, he was the one who was sick, not them and it wouldn't be fair for them to stay home and worry about his condition. Currently, he was sitting on a stool in Wilson's backyard with his eyes closed as Wilson was trying to help him meditate.

"The healthy white blood cells are attacking the cancer cells." Wilson spoke in a soft voice.

"Attacking." Randy whispered back, hoping that was true.

"Attacking the cancer cells."

"Attacking." Randy repeated. He then opened his eyes and took a deep breath before looking up at his neighbor.

"How are you feeling?" Wilson asked.

"A little bit better." Randy responded. "Thanks, Wilson."

"My pleasure, Taylor lad."

Hopping off the stool, Randy lightly kicked the ground before looking up at the cloudless sky as something was still on his mind. It went away while he was talking with Wilson but now he was back to thinking about it.

"Wilson." He began.

"Yes."

"I think I'm going to die."

The statement he had just heard stunned Wilson. He stared at the young teen for a moment before responding in a shocked voice;

"Why would you say that?"

Randy shoved his hands in his pockets as he recalled his dream.

"I had a nightmare during my treatment at the hospital. I saw my own funeral." Tears then began to build up in his eyes that he quickly wiped away. "It was like being in hell, Wilson." Randy then bit his bottom lip. "I don't want to die."

Wilson then quickly went over to him and put his arm around his shoulder as he led him back to the stool, trying his best to comfort the scared boy.

"Have you ever read Meister Eckhart?" He asked.

"No."

Wilson smiled.

"I didn't think so."

He then started to remember the German philosopher's words about angels and demons, hoping that it would comfort Randy in some way.

"Eckhart saw Hell too. He said: The only thing that burns in Hell is the part of you that won't let go of life, your memories, your attachments. They burn them all away. But they're not punishing you, they're freeing your soul." Wilson then looked Randy right in the eye. "So, if you're frightened of dying and... and you're holding on, you'll see devils tearing your life away. But if you've made your peace, then the devils are really angels, freeing you from the earth. It's just a matter of how you look at it, that's all."

Randy then smiled a little.

"Do you think I'll be okay, Wilson?"

Wilson nodded.

"I really do."

Back inside the house, Jill was on the phone with Dr. Kauffman trying to find out if Randy's condition had improved at all after his first iodine treatment.

"We still haven't gotten back the results, Mrs. Taylor." Dr. Kauffman spoke. "Why don't you call back in an hour?"

"Okay." Jill sighed.

"I can tell you that Randy's next treatment will be on Friday at eleven thirty."

"Alright, thank you Dr. Kauffman."

Just as Jill hung up the phone, Tim came down the stairs with a pad of paper in his hands as he had been up in his room writing down his feelings about the whole situation, something Jill had suggested he do to get out all his emotion and frustration.

"Hey, any update?" Tim asked.

"No, nothing yet."

Jill then looked down at the pad in his hand and saw that it had writing on it.

"I see that you took my advice."

"Yeah. I actually feel a little better…maybe you do know what you're talking about."

"Thanks." Jill responded sarcastically.

The two of them then moved further into the living room and looked out into the backyard, seeing Randy laying down on one of the lawn chairs, throwing a tennis ball up into the air.

"I think it's time you talking to him." Jill stated.

Even though he knew his wife was right, Tim couldn't get his feet to move forward. Jill then shook her head, not understanding.

"Why are you so afraid?"

"I don't know."

Tim then took a deep breath as he ran his hand through his hair.

"When is his next treatment?" He then asked.

"Friday."

"Okay, I'll go with you when you take him to the hospital."

"No, I think you should take him yourself."

"Jill-"

"Tim, you have to do this. You can't keep avoiding him. Imagine how Randy feels knowing his father can't face him."

"Fine. I'll take him myself."

Jill nodded before turning away as Tim looked back out the glass doors, seeing his second son continue to lay out in the sun. No more excuses, no more avoiding...he would talk to Randy about everything.


	7. Managing Your Emotions

Wiping off the steam off the bathroom mirror as he stood there in his robe, Randy took a deep breath as he looked at himself knowing today was his next treatment at the hospital. Once again he would have to spend an entire day in a room by himself away from home. He certainly wasn't looking forward to it and hoped that the mediation techniques that Wilson had showed him would help in some way. Just wanting to get this over with, Randy quickly dressed himself before going down the stairs and seeing his mom sitting at her desk in the corner.

"Mom, are you ready to go?"

"You're a little early, sweetie."

"I just want to get this over with. So, can we leave now?"

"Actually, your father is going to take you this time." Jill responded as she stopped typing and looked at him.

"Dad?" Randy questioned.

The last time he had really seen his dad was in the garage when they arrived home from the doctor after being told the news. Since then, he had only seen him briefly at times almost like his dad was avoiding him.

"Hey, Randy."

The voice got his attention as Tim walked in from the backyard and saw him.

"Are you ready to go?"

"Uh…yeah."

"I was thinking, maybe we can get breakfast first, if you're hungry."

"Yeah, I could eat."

"And then stop off at the arcade and play a little 'Mortal Massacre.'"

"I don't know if we have enough time."

"I think we do."

Jill couldn't help but smile a little as Tim wanted to have the day he suggested to Randy that day they had to tell him about the situation, the day they found out he had cancer.

"Alright, sure."

Randy then followed his dad out to the garage and got into the car as Tim started it up and drove out into the street.

"So what's going on?" Randy asked as he put on his seatbelt.

"What'd you mean?"

"I haven't seen you much over the last week now you want to spend the day with me? What gives?"

Tim sighed heavily.

"I know. It's just that I've felt so guilty."

"About what?"

"Telling you that you were fine…and now you're going through this."

"It's not your fault." Randy responded. "There's more to it than that."

Tim nodded to himself as he continued to drive. Randy was a smart kid, he wasn't going to get anything past him. He might as well tell him just how hard this whole thing had been on him.

"It just that you being sick has made me question a lot of things." Tim began. "It's really been tough for me to deal with. I guess I just got a little scared."

Randy kind of stiffened after he said that.

"Well let me know what I can do to help you through this rough patch."

"Oh come on, I'm not good at this kind of thing you know that."

"It's okay."

Tim then turned at the light and ended up in front of the diner. Randy then spoke up again.

"I've been thinking a lot about death lately."

Tim then shut his eyes, he was about to respond but his son continued.

"Wondering what it's like."

"Well, that's pointless because you're not going to find out for a while."

"You don't know that."

"Yes I do."

Tim then tried to remember what Wilson had told him in the backyard the morning after they had gotten the news. The advice helped him a little, maybe it would do the same for Randy.

"There was this man named Greg Goddarn. And he said in order to heal yourself you have to eat, sleep, and put your pants on the same way you did as you were healthy."

Randy cocked his head as he looked at his father.

"What?"

"What I'm trying to say is that your strong and you beat this. We're all tried and scared and angry, but we've got to push a little bit more to get through this."

A little smile appeared on Randy's face as he thought it over.

"I'm going to beat this."

Tim smiled back.

"I know you are."

He then put his hand on Randy's shoulder and squeezed a little.

"Let's go have breakfast."

As Tim and Randy got out of the car and headed to the diner, back at the house Jill was finishing her paper when the doorbell rang. Getting up and answering it, to her relief it was her parents, Fred and Lillian Patterson as well as Lucille Taylor, Tim's mother.

"Oh, thank you all for coming on such short notice." Jill said as she welcomed them all in.

"You don't have to thank us dear, you know we'd be here for you." Lillian assured.

"Where is Randy?" Lucille then asked.

"Tim took him to his treatment."

"When will he be back home?"

"Tomorrow morning."

"Oh, we're sorry we missed him."

"It's okay, I'm just glad you're here."

For once in their trips here, there was no arguing or bickering. Jill had called all of them the previous day, asking them if they could make it to the house. They all agreed, knowing the situation called for family and as much love as possible. Upon arriving home after leaving Randy at the hospital for his next treatment, to say that Tim was surprised to see his mother waiting for him in the garage would be an understatement.

"Mom?" He questioned as he got out of the car. "What are you doing here?"

"Jill called me." Lucille responded. "She asked me if I could stay a few days."

The two of them hugged as Tim smiled a little. His mother knew about Randy's condition as he called to tell her soon after he found out. He really wasn't expecting this, and to be honest it was nice to be talking to his mom in person right now.

"So, how's Randy doing?"

"He's…in better spirits."

"That's good."

"Come on in, have you eaten yet?"

"Yes, Jill cooked breakfast for all of us."

"All of us?"

Opening the door that led into the house, Tim stopped in his tracks when he saw Jill's parents sitting on the couch in the living room watching television. As much as he was surprised to see them, he was more surprised to see that there was no arguing or bickering as usual.

"Hey, you." Fred greeted, turning his head for a split second to acknowledge his son-in-law for a moment before going back to watching a documentary on World War II. Lillian on the other hand got up to hug Tim.

"Tim, so nice to see you."

"Nice of you to make the trip." Tim responded.

"It was nothing, we had some frequent flyer miles that were going to expire so I called Jill and asked if we could visit for a few days and she said come on down."

"Did she?"

"Yes."

Tim turned around to see his wife standing on the small staircase that led down to the living room.

"I just thought with…what's been going on it be nice to have them here now."

"It was a good idea."

The two of them hugged for a moment before Jill took Tim's hand and led him around the corner so she could talk to him in private for a moment.

"How did things go with Randy?" Jill asked.

"Good. We talked about everything…I think he's in a better place."

Jill smiled, happy that her husband finally got to the place where he could talk to his son. As this was going on, back upstairs in his room Brad was getting a few things together as he was being kicked out of his room for the next few days. As usual, he was being forced to stay with Mark when his grandparents visited. Sighing heavily, Brad took his stuff and walked out of his room and down the hallway to the open door of the room he used to share with Randy.

"Hey." Mark greeted as he looked up from his spot on the bed, reading a book.

"Hey." Brad echoed back.

"It's nice that grandma and grandpa came to visit."

"No, it's not nice because I have to room with you for the next few days."

Mark ignored him as him as Brad sat a few magazines down on the desk. As he did a piece of paper with writing caught his eye. Randy was my older brother. He teased me a lot, he didn't always let me hang out with him, but when he got sick he changed a lot. I know it may sound horrible, but I was kind of glad for what had happened, because we were getting along better.'

What was this? It sounded like Randy was…dead.

"What is this?" Brad asked as he picked up the paper.

"Give me that." Mark said in a panicked voice as he jumped up. He grabbed for the paper but Brad kept it out of his reach.

"What are you doing, thinking about Randy being dead you little dork?"

"No!"

"That's what it sounds like to me!"

Brad then grabbed Mark by the collar of his shirt, feeling like punching his youngest brother. However, before anything could happen Jill appeared in the doorway having heard the noise.

"Hey, hey, hey." Jill said as she broke up the argument. "What is going on here? Why are you fighting?"

"Because of what this dork wrote about Randy." Brad responded as he handed his mom the paper. Jill took it and after looking it over for a moment looked up at Mark, a little confused.

"What is this, honey?"

Sighing heavily, Mark responded;

"I was watching television the other day and this actor was talking about speaking at his brothers funeral...and I, just thought about what I say about Randy."

"A eulogy for your brother?"

Mark nodded.

"You know what I'd like to know? Why would you assume that you would do the eulogy?" Brad asked harshly.

"Hey." Jill said. Being that she was in school to become a therapist she understood that people dealt with this sort of thing in their own way. "Now Brad, I don't think that Mark wants Randy to die."

"I don't."

"I think he just wanted to express what Randy means to him. People express their feelings in different ways. Do you understand?"

Brad stood quietly as he stared at Mark as he thought about what his mom just told him.

"Sorry, Mark." He finally spoke.

"It's okay."

"So uh, want to play a video game?"

"Yeah." Mark smiled, happy that his brother wanted to do something with him. It didn't happen very often. Jill smiled a little as the boys went about their game, happy at how fast things had gotten worked out. Just as she walked out in the hall, Tim had come up the stairs.

"I'm actually happy that your folks made the trip."

Jill nodded.

"I thought it be nice to have them."

"It is. Listen, I'm gonna take a little cat nap."

"Alright. I'll wake you when dinner's ready."


	8. Remission

'Here we go again.' Randy thought during his third radioactive iodine treatment at the hospital. It had been a week since his last one and he had been spending time at the house with his grandparents who had recently gone home. It was nice to see them as they all surprising got along, and it helped put him in a good place. The only thing he was happy about now was that finally he could have visitors in his room and his dad was waiting for him when he walked in.

"Hey buddy." Tim greeted.

Randy grinned back at him, feeling a little sick to his stomach as he laid down on the bed, hoping that it would pass.

"How are you feeling?" His father then asked.

"Oh, just great. About as good as you much feel every time you go to the hospital after Tool Time."

How did he think he was feeling? Randy had chemicals going through him and cancer along with it. He then looked at his dad who looked a little hurt. Randy didn't think that he would take that personally.

"Dad, I was just kidding. I didn't mean anything."

"Yeah, I know."

Just then, Dr. Kauffman walked in and Randy's eyes widened a little as he tried to read her expression. Did she have good news or bad news?

"Randy, I looked over your most recent test results, and there seems to be a mistake. They all show no blast counts. You've haven't had any treatment since last week and your last test before this still showed that you have the disease. I need to take more blood to recheck this."

Dr. Kauffman left saying a nurse would come in soon. Randy wasn't sure what to think as he and his dad looked at each other, both their expressions said the same thing. Could this be a miracle? A nurse came in a few minutes later to take more blood.

"The results should be back later today." The nurse said as she left the room.

"What do you think?" Randy asked.

"I don't know, but I do hope those results weren't a mistake." Tim responded.

He smiled then. Maybe this would be over soon, but probably not today.

After about an hour, Jill came straight to the hospital after getting done with school and found Tim sitting in a chair by the bed with Randy asleep. He must have been tired from the treatment. Jill had found out from one of the nurses about what Dr. Kauffman had told the two of them and she really didn't know whether to be happy or not. She was afraid to be hopeful that a miracle had really happened. What if it hadn't? What if everything was still the same?

Tim and Jill both smiled at each other as she walked further into the room as Randy was starting to wake up.

"Hey, mom." He said sleepily.

"Hi, honey."

"Did you hear about my test results?"

"Yes."

"The nurse said the results will be back later today. I hope the first tests were right. I don't know if I can take anymore of this."

Jill sighed as she wondered what was coming next. She wished those results would hurry up, so we would know for sure what was happening. Just as she was thinking this, the door opened and in walked Dr. Kauffman. Randy quickly sat up as the door opened and the doctor came in. He couldn't wait to hear the news, but what if it was bad? He didn't have time to think about that.

"Well, Randy, I have great news. You are indeed in remission. It really seems like a miracle has happened. I'm sending you home today, but you're going to have to come in once a week for blood work and low dose of iodine treatment because there is a high chance for relapse."

"So that's it?" Randy asked in shock. "The cancer is gone?"

"Yes."

Dr. Kauffman then smiled as Randy, Tim, and Jill engulfed each other in a tight hug. They were squeezing each other so hard that Randy could barely breathe but he didn't care. This was finally over.

As they let go, Randy saw that his mother had tears in her eyes.

"I don't have words." Jill said as she wiped her eyes.

"I don't either," Tim responded.

"That's a first," Randy joked as they all laughed. They all genuinely laughed as Tim tightly hugged his son again. For these past weeks it had felt like he had been holding a bag full of rocks…and now he could finally put it down.

Later that evening at the Taylor house it was truly a time for celebration. Brad and Mark were told the news and exchanged hugs with Randy out of happiness as Jill prepared dinner with everyone else watching television. She had also made chocolate cake with lots of icing…that with a home cooked meal, this would be good. Tim in the meantime was laughing like he had never laughed before. He couldn't stop and soon his sons were staring at him. Even Jill walked into the living room to see what was so funny.

"What?" Tim asked.

"You're laughing at the commercials, Tim." Jill as she laughed a little too.

"I'm just happy. It feels good to laugh."

Jill smiled as she walked back over to the stove as Brad and Mark smiled as well. Nothing was really funny, they were just glad that Randy was better and home again.

"I feel the same way." Randy spoke as he laughed a little himself.

He had been given a miracle, they all had. He was in remission and back home again. Just a short time ago, they were afraid that this would never happen. Now it was a reality. When Jill told them that dinner was ready they went to the table where chicken, potatoes, and cake was waiting for them. They laughed and talked some more as they ate. It sure felt good not to have to be so serious all the time anymore. We could relax and breathe easier now. Just as Randy laughed after his dad told a joke about his older brother, Brad kicked him from underneath the table. Randy looked at him for a second before flinging potatoes at him that it Brad right in the middle of the forehead.

Brad looked at him in shock for a moment before picking up a large piece of cake and slamming it down on Randy's head.

"Hey guys." Tim began before Randy threw potatoes at him as well.

Tim responded by throwing a piece of chicken at his second son as Mark began laughing only to be hit by food himself. In just a few seconds they all had food all over them except for Jill, but that didn't last long. She had gotten in on the food fight herself for a few moments before she realized just how much of a mess they were making.

"All right, everyone. Calm down." She said.

They all stood still and looked at her as she spoke.

"Let's get this mess cleaned up."

"Yeah, that might be a good idea." Tim said looking around at the room still smiling, his face dripping with potatoes and cake.

It took a long time, but they got ourselves and the kitchen cleaned up. After they finished, they all sat in the living room.

"So, did everyone get enough to eat?" Tim then asked.

Jill rolled her eyes and laughed as he turned on the television and they ended up settling on an old episode of Tool Time. What a crazy day, but it was great to see the whole family happy again.

XXXXXXXX

Randy was sixteen years old now, a sophomore in high school, so it had been a little over two years since he was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. He went to the doctor frequently for test and blood work to make sure the cancer stayed in remission and fortunately it didn't come back…at least for now.

The best thing was how much closer the family was due to all this. They could talk about almost anything now and get through anything together. Randy also realized how important it is to enjoy life no matter what happens.

You never know when things might change.

The End.


End file.
